


May cause temporary insanity

by Fatale (femme)



Series: Ave Atque Vale [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Smoking, Vampire Alec Lightwood, i know wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femme/pseuds/Fatale
Summary: Izzy and Magnus are discussing gold leaf and champagne ranunculus wedding cakes. Alec is 75% sure at least some of that is food.





	May cause temporary insanity

**Author's Note:**

> Set after "Ave Atque Vale" but before "Can I help you."
> 
> One more part before I'm ready to let this series go, I think. :)

 

 

Izzy and Magnus are discussing gold leaf and champagne ranunculus wedding cakes. Alec is 75% sure at least some of that is food. Simon, who grudgingly came with Izzy, has fucked off somewhere and left Alec in the hot seat alone.

When Magnus asks his opinion on flower arrangements, Izzy snorts affectionately and says Alec wouldn’t know a nice flower arrangement if it bit him in the ass, which okay, is actually fair, but Alec still resents it a little.

Alec sometimes knows nice stuff. He’s got a _super_ nice collection of arrows, swords, and throwing knives. But _ooooooh,_ he doesn’t know the difference between stephanotis and hydrangeas, call the police.

They ask him for his opinion a few more times before giving up when all Alec could answer is that it seems okay. Between the two of them, he’s the tie-breaker, but he’s learned that siding with either his sister or fiancé gets him nowhere pleasant really fast.

He’s used to making tough, life-altering decisions, but this is too much pressure. He stammers that he’s going to look for something before hurrying off, but neither Izzy or Magnus notice as they hotly debate whether canapés are déclassé, and Alec has no clue what any of those things are, he’s got to _get the fuck out of here_.

He wanders around the event space, thinks, _this is where I’m getting married_.

The last time he was here, he’d avoided the thought altogether, knots of tension in his belly, sick and dizzy at the thought of tying his life to someone he did not, could not, ever truly love.

Lydia had not asked his opinion on anything because it was assumed she would take care of it. It’s not that his opinion wasn’t valued, it was just understood that he’d finished his part. He’d proposed and all he had to do was show up, say his vows, get married. And what a fantastic job he’d done.

Everything’s going to be different now. If he can just survive the wedding planning.

He sees smoke coming from the bottom of a janitor’s closet, and pulls the door open, to see Simon, crouched on a teetering stack of boxes of toilet paper with a cigarette dangling from his parted lips.

“Really?” Alec asks, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

“It’s not like I’m going to get cancer,” Simon says and holds out a cigarette for Alec. “It passes the time.”

He’s not wrong, but Alec still can’t shake off the idea that he’s doing something awful, but he grabs it anyway. If he’s going to live forever, he might as well _live_ a little. He lights the cigarette and it flares yellow, then flames out.

“No,” Simon says, “inhale while lighting.”

Alec tries it again and is rewarded by the most foul mouthful he’s ever tasted in his entire life, including the time he nearly drowned and drank like, half the Hudson. His eyes water; his lungs, which are mostly for decorative purposes these days, burn. “What the hell, Simon?” he wheezes.

“You get used to it.”

Alec inhales again and it _is_ smoother this time. He wonders if this is how all addictions start, if he’s going to start smoking pot next, eating Cheetos, and listening to Pink Floyd on vinyl.

“Izzy’s going to kill you.”

“It’s a distinct possibility,” Simon says, sounding glum.

He doesn’t know Simon well, mostly finds him pesky, and his nervous chattering grates. Plus, he’s dating his sister and is best friends with Clary, two things that Alec thinks makes him highly suspect. But they’re both stuck here for the foreseeable future, unless Alec wants to go find another janitor’s closet to hide in.

“What’s wrong?” he asks reluctantly.

Simon scratches the back of his head. “You really want to talk about my love life with me?”

“No,” Alec says quickly.

“Oh, well.” Simon seems to visibly deflate. “Then I guess everything’s okay.”

Jesus, why does Alec always feel like such an asshole? “I guess I could listen,” Alec says.

“It’s about your sister.”

“I know,” Alec says morosely.

“I just--I love her so much. Have you ever thought you might be in love with two people at the same time?”

Alec takes a deep breath, forgetting his mouthful of cigarette smoke. He takes a minute to wheeze a few times, then lets himself be royally pissed off. “Who else are you in love with?” he demands, voice low and dangerous, letting violence bleed into the syllables. Alec’s going to kill someone, he can tell. Someone is going to die today. Probably Simon. _Again_.

Simon hunches his shoulders. “No one.”

“ _Tell me_.”

“It’s--complicated. He doesn’t really want the type of relationship I maybe want with him and I love Izzy so damn much, but--”

Oh fuck. Alec closes his eyes. Raphael. He can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner. “You need to tell Izzy.”

“Oh yeah, she knows.”

Alec feels his eyebrows rise so quickly, he’s surprised they don’t fly off his face, orbit the planet and soar into the sun. “And she’s okay with that?”

“I don’t know,” Simon exhales. “She says she is. She says she’s really busy with work and like, she’s cool with an open relationship, and she wants me to have someone after she’s gone, but I just---I don’t think this is how relationships are supposed to be?”

So, Izzy is aware, has talked about it with Simon and has come up with a reasonable solution. Sounds like Iz. Alec feels the tension leave his body. “Simon, Izzy’s pretty honest. If she says she’s okay with it, she’s probably okay with it.”

“Doesn’t seem right.”

Alec stretches, hears the joints in his neck and back pop. “One thing I’ve learned is you kind of have to let go of right and wrong if you want to be happy. Can’t go by what you expected to happen. Nothing in my life has gone the way I’d planned -- and I think it’s pretty okay anyway.”

Simon grins. “Yeah, like hiding in a janitor’s closet with me?”

“Well, not this exact moment,” Alec allows. He stubs his cigarette out.

“Not everybody can, you know,” he gestures at Alec, “meet the man of his dreams and get vampire married and live disgustingly happily ever after.”

“It’s not like it was easy,” Alec says.

“I know. You and Jace just make it look so damn easy. Doesn’t help that you’re both like, super tall and leather daddies.”

“First, I don’t know what that is, but I can tell I don’t like the comparison. Second, you’re not--bad.” Alec looks away. “I mean, some people like the musician thing, I guess.”

“I’m no demon hunter,” Simon says.

Alec screws his face up. “I’m not that anymore.”

“Yeah,” Simon says, voice soft, sounding a little sorry he even brought it up.

The silence hangs oppressively, as Alec crouches down on his box of paper towels, feeling awkward. Now is the time to say something poignant, touching, to really bring this discussion on home.

“So what you’re saying is,“ Simon says slowly, “you think I’m sexy.”

“Fuck off,” Alec says, surprised laughter bursting out. He makes a face. “Think they’re done out there?”

“We could check,” Simon allows. He pulls out the pack, shakes a couple of cigarettes into his palm and holds one out to Alec. “Or we could stay in here forever.”

“Or we could do that,” Alec agrees and lights up another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> “Thanks for that,” Alec says.
> 
> “De nada.” Simon’s been learning to speak Spanish. He’d really like to know what Raphael’s saying when he’s insulting Simon rapidly under his breath, so he can refute that shit so hard.
> 
> “Dude,” Simon says, “we’re fang brothers now.” He holds a fist for Alec to bump, while Alec stares at it balefully. Okay, moment of solidarity over, he can take a hint.
> 
> “You know I hate when you say stuff like that,” Alec mumbles.
> 
> Yeah, Simon thinks, they’re totally vampire bros now.


End file.
